Drunk Driving

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Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer warns beware of drunk drivers

The summer months are filled with graduation parties, reunions, picnics and other celebrations and travels. This time of year also brings an increase in drunk drivers.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, every 2-hours, three people are killed in this country in alcohol-related highway crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 33,561 crash fatalities in 2012, of those 31% or 10,322 involved a drunk driver. This was a 4.6% increase from the previous year.

In 2012, 239 children age 14 and younger were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Of those, 124 were in the vehicle with a drunk driver. The NHTSA reported that the rate of alcohol impairment among drivers in fatal crashes in 2012 was nearly 4 times higher at night than during the day. 15% of al drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were alcohol-impaired, compared to 30% on the weekends. […]

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Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer Reports on the Hazardous Combination of Drinking and Driving

Every day we read and watch more news reports of drunk driving accidents, many involving children in the vehicle, and a high percentage resulting in fatalities. Any crash involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher is considered to be an alcohol-impaired driving crash. According to a recently released report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Impaired, there were 10,322 fatalities in alcohol-impaired crashes in 2012. 28 people die every day in America as a result of these crashes. NHTSA also reported that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and about a quarter involve an underage drinker.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD), reported that an estimated 32% of fatal car crashes involve an intoxicated driver or pedestrian. Alcohol affects attentiveness and one’s ability to make quick decisions on the road, […]

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EMS Driver Caught Driving Drunk

State police in Swiftwater arrested a woman for driving an EMS vehicle drunk on December 29.

The emergency service driver was stopped for speeding and following another vehicle too closely. Arresting officers determined she was too impaired to drive.

Each year automobile accidents in Pennsylvania claim the lives of more than 1,000 people and injure another 85,000 more. More than 70 percent of the state’s auto accidents in 2010 resulted in an injury or fatality.

Far too many of these wrecks were caused by a driver’s negligence or recklessness.

Following is from the Scranton Times-Tribune:

A Monroe County woman was arrested Saturday for driving an emergency medical services vehicle while under the influence.

State police at Swiftwater stopped Stacy M. Ems, 23, Paradise Twp., around 1 AM for speeding and following another vehicle too closely on Buttermilk Falls Road, […]

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DUI Memorial Moving Across Pennsylvania

A memorial wall with the names of 1,000 drunk driving victims is traveling across Pennsylvania to raise awareness of impaired driving in the holiday season.

The Pennsylvania DUI Association’s Victims Moving Memorial starts at West Chester on December 10 before visiting Norristown, Scranton, the Delaware County Courthouse and ending up in Harrisburg by week’s end.

Addressing DUI at all stages – education, prevention, enforcement, adjudication and rehabilitation – is the mission of the Pennsylvania DUI Association.

In 2010, there were 459 motor vehicle deaths in Pennsylvania in which alcohol was a factor. On an average day, there were 34 alcohol-related traffic accidents, leaving 26 people injured and at least one dead.

This is from the Scranton Times-Tribune:

Housed in a 30-foot trailer, the Moving Memorial features a wall with the names of 1,000 drunken-driving victims who have been honored in the Pennsylvania DUI Memorial Garden. […]

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Pennsylvania State Trooper Dies in Accident

State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan announced the tragic death of 47-year-old Trooper First Class Blake T. Coble of Troop D, Beaver Station after he was killed in an automobile wreck last Thursday. Coble was on duty Oct. 4 when he was struck by a semi at 10 a.m. at Black Hawk Road near Route 168 in South Beaver Township.

According to news reports, Coble’s patrol car was struck by the tractor-trailer when the truck driver went through a stop sign at the intersection. No charges have been filed against the driver of the truck, who has been cooperating with investigators, state police said.

In a press release announcing Coble’s death, Noonan said:

“He [Coble] died serving the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the men and women of the Pennsylvania State Police mourn his loss and extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends. […]